Archive: Mermaid Toiletry Set

Archive: Forgotten Mermaid Piece

Poor Candleabra needs some repair, but it is completely feasible. Still love it,

Archive: Mermaid Art

In the late 90s, early '00s, I worked with pearls. Vintage/freshwater, whatever I could get my hands on. I had seen Eleanor Antin's installations at the LAX museum, and was creating the work of an undiscovered civilization. I abandoned this labourious process, but bits of it can still be seen influencing my work. a few pieces need repair, and I am missing the Starfish Sceptor (with a real starfish instead of a scallop), the third square bottle and the 2 really nice tiaras. The one shown here is a later work, as it uses gilded glass, which only overlaps in 2 transitional pieces. I don't own them anymore. The collection is a mirror, a brush, a comb, 3 bottles, a compact, a hair ornament, a silver bowl and a sceptor. Displayed on silk organza.

Here is the whole collection, I will post individual shots as I edit.

Mirror, Mirror In Progress

Pity I don't have a finished photo. This was a great piece.

Explaining the Process with Visual Aid

So, what is it that I do? Nope, I don't just put glass down and break it with a hammer. No, I do not gild the wood and glue the glass onto it- that would make a murky mess. I do gild the wood, but only because it bugs me if there is space. I have begun to embrace negative (non glassed) space over the past couple of years, but I still like it to touch as much as possible).

Click the photo to enlarge and then think about this:

Each piece of glass is individually gilded with tissue thin foil to keep the effect of sun shining on glass (like a rhinestone). I then assemble the piece cube by cube or piece by piece. There is little space, if any, between the glass. I do not cut or manipulate the glass- the composition comes organically. I seal the piece once completed. It is collage, NOT mosaic, though I am inspired by ancient mosaics, my work has no mortar between the pieces. Am I crazy, or does this keep me just this side of sane?

7" X 7"

Full Piece, Close Up.

The making of...

Illustration of the process in action. Making a vase/bottle as a wedding present.
Found a broken windshield (sorry neighbor lady, but it was not me!)
Gathered it up, made me bleed my own blood (+$50)

Next, take the broken glass and arrange it on some paper, so it is easy to work on. Foil adhesive is painted on the individual pieces and allowed to dry.

Then, once the adhesive dries, foil, which is as thin as wet tissue paper:

Is pressed onto the glass. The glass is then ready to be attached to whatever it is I am working on:

Bottle is a half pint milk bottle, dug up from underneath the Hawthorne Bridge, likely ca 1900-1930

I had attempted to make this into something, but it did not work out, thus, it is partially gilded with gold. The gold will be covered in silver and the glass image formed on top.

Image starts to form. Pearls, freshwater and vintage/shells/glass.
Different qualities of light and zoom settings (I am not a photographer)

I decided I did not like the imagery or the composition, so I took some of the shells and glass off and added more pearls, a new shell and tinier pieces of glass. Tonight, it will be finished.

And finally, we arrive at the finished piece. Set glass into the shell, added more glass and pearls. Sealed. Will seal again and clean up the unadorned glass before presentation.

Skull

Deer Skull, glass, real antique red coral beads, real south sea pearls, real antique mother of pearl beads. Black glass around eyes. I really, really dig this piece. The skull was a gift. Or, rather, was given to me to pass along to somone 6+ years ago. I made it into art, as I doubt I will ever see the intended recipient again. And, anyway, I had a vision and had to make this.

Pink and Black Abstract

I really like the colors and my ability to let go and give in to negative space, which, in this case, is painted with pewter paint. Dramatic!

Working with what is around

The reason I work with the media I do is because it is what is around, it is free, and it is usually thought of as trash. I absolutely look crazy picking up stuff from the side of the road, in gutters, on railroad trax, but I am recycling and picking up trash when gathering my art supplies. We all win when I look insane. The only non-found stuff in my work is the foil and adhesives, which I can get in most cities.

I was in Chicago, my hometown, visiting for an extended amount of time. I was expecting I could just quit Art cold turkey for a couple of months, and I was wrong. My father builds things, so I had access to wood. My parents enjoy the wine (which, thank Bowie, because visiting is made much easier on the grape!), so there were plenty of bottles, and I admit to breaking these on purpose for Art's sake. I do not normally break glass, as there is always plenty around, however, They live in the suburbs, so there isn't much to find around their home. In addition, there was a large broken vintage blue Mason jar in the garage. Anyway, these two pieces were created with wine bottles, a vermouth bottle, a Mason jar and some old nail polish my sister left when she moved out years ago to make the flowers pearlescent. Beads at center were from a bracelet one of my nieces broke.

The imagery isn't ground breaking or exciting; I had to get my yayas out, in the parlance of some time. Maybe it was all of the Monets at the AIC.

On Fire

Let the mother fucker burn!

Landscape Rigel 07 Number 3

I like purple glass. I am giddy when I find some.

Strata

White Knight

Am I being ironic? I don't even know anymore...


Glass. Horsey from a chess set.

Architecture

I've figured out that my work photographs best outside in direct sunlight, however, I need to work on my framing or photograph on fabric; pardon the grass. I love this piece. Idea was deconstructing/reconstructing of cities/history. Bits of oddities peek out amongst copper gilded glass, milk glass. Fragments of tiles with pigment painted scallop shells. And a whole panel of found glass painted with this antiquing stuff my mother sent me. On found, not completely flush wood, painted in pigment.

It captures the sense of pride that a building must feel as it stands tall and stark, even in the face of an economy that is no longer using it as it once did, it is still a tactile reminder of greatness.

Full piece, close up of top, close up of bottom.

In Cairo

Sculpy replica of the tattoo on my outer left leg pigment painted glass, copper foiled glass on gilded found wood piece.

Elegy for FLW

Inspired by the stained glass of F.L. Wright.

Glass, silver foil on gilded wood.

.

Landscape, Rigel 7

Glass, copper foil, silver foil, pearls, pigment on gilded wood. In the private collection of Celeste A.Ramsay, Portland.

Cityscape

Glass, silver foil, stained glass scraps on gilded wood.

Landscape, Columbia Gorge

Glass, copper foil, silver foil, vintage pearls on gilded wood.

Red

Gilded glass and plastic on gilded wood. (foil/found stuff/wood)

Guadalupe II

I was raised Catholic. I am still working it out of my system. I like their art, anyway, especially the lady saints. And icons are a nod to art history.

Antique tin scraps, foil, glass, acrylic paint on wood.